THAT'S RIGHT! NEXT WEDNESDAY THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY SAYING THEY ARE GOING TO ANNOUNCE SOMETHING BIG RELATED TO THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY!

BY THE WAY, THAT IS AUGUST 31ST! 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THE END OF THE IEX TESTING WHICH CONCLUDES ON THE 2ND OF SEPTEMBER.

BINGO! WOW! VERY COOL! I CAN'T WAIT TILL SEPTEMBER 6TH TO SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE AFTER THE LABOR DAY HOLIDAY!

BY THE WAY, I'M TRACKING THE IEX ON MY IPHONE ALREADY BUT IT ONLY SHOWS ACTIVITY OF GENERAL CATEGORIES PRESENTLY.

THERE IS NOTHING AVAILABLE TO SEE ON INDIVIDUAL CURRENCIES OR STOCKS YET. DOC IMO ....

Thunderhawk: Big banks plan to coin new digital currency

Four of the world’s biggest banks have teamed up to develop a new form of digital cash that they believe will become an industry standard to clear and settle financial trades over blockchain, the technology underpinning bitcoin.

UBS, the Swiss bank, pioneered the “utility settlement coin” and has now joined forces with Deutsche Bank, Santander and BNY Mellon — as well as the broker ICAP — to pitch the idea to central banks, aiming for its first commercial launch by early 2018.

The move, to be announced on Wednesday, is one of the most concrete examples of banks co-operating on a specific blockchain technology to harness the power of decentralised computer networks and improve the efficiency of financial market plumbing.

“Today trading between banks and institutions is difficult, time-consuming and costly, which is why we all have big back offices,” said Julio Faura, head of R&D and innovation at Santander. “This is about streamlining it and making it more efficient.”

Blockchain technology is a complex set of algorithms that allows so-called cryptocurrencies — including bitcoin — to be traded and verified electronically over a network of computers without a central ledger.

Having initially been sceptical about it because of worries over fraud, banks are now exploring how they can exploit the technology to speed up back-office settlement systems and free billions in capital tied up supporting trades on global markets.

The total cost to the finance industry of clearing and settling trades is estimated at $65bn-$80bn a year, according to a report last year by Oliver Wyman.

There are several rival digital cash systems being developed. Setl, a London-based group founded by hedge fund investors and trading executives last year, also aims to settle financial market payments with digital cash linked directly to central banks.

Citigroup is working on its own “Citicoin” solution, while Goldman Sachs has filed a patent for a “SETLcoin” to allow trades to be settled near-instantaneously. JPMorgan is also working on a similar project.

The utility settlement coin, based on a solution developed by Clearmatics Technologies, aims to let financial institutions pay for securities, such as bonds and equities, without waiting for traditional money transfers to be completed. Instead they would use digital coins that are directly convertible into cash at central banks, cutting the time and cost of post-trade settlement and clearing.

The coins, each convertible into different currencies, would be stored using the blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, allowing them to be quickly swapped for the financial securities being traded.

“You need a form of digital cash on the distributed ledger in order to get maximum benefit from these technologies,” said Hyder Jaffrey, head of fintech innovation at UBS. “What that allows us to do is to take away the time these processes take, such as waiting for payment to arrive. That frees up capital trapped during the process.”

He said the project team would spend the next year seeking the approval and co-operation of regulators and central banks and aim for a “limited and low-risk” commercial launch by early 2018. The consortium members plan to argue that the system would improve transparency for regulators.

The US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada are among central banks examining the potential benefits of digital currencies. But concerns include the security and the impact on banking stability.

David Treat, head of Accenture’s capital markets blockchain practice, said the technology was still at a stage of having “three to five years before we get things adopted at scale and several more years before it goes mainstream”.

BACKOC: WHAT IS VERY IMPORTANT HERE IS THAT SINGAPORE IS BEGINNING TO COMPARTMENTALIZE THE INTERNET SO AS TO IMPROVE SECURITY FOR THE FUTURE DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS GLOBALLY! WOW!

NOW WE KNOW WHY THE U.S. HAS TO GIVE UP THE INTERNET TO A PRIVATIZED ENTITY BY OCTOBER 1ST! THE NEW DIGITAL REALITY BEGINS OFFICIALLY WITH THE NEW FISCAL YEAR OF COURSE!

NOW THAT OZ IS IN SINGAPORE IT ALLOWS HIM FREEDOM TO FUNCTION IN A TERRITORY OF CHINA AS OPPOSED TO MAINLAND CHINA!

SINCE OZ IS THE CONTROLLING ENTITY OF THE PRIVATIZED NEW BODY FOR THE INTERNET, A HIGHER DEGREE OF CONTROL AND SAFETY FOR DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS WILL BE ACHIEVED! HOLY BLOCK CHAIN, BACKMAN! POW!

IT SEEMS WE ARE GETTING KNOCKED OUT EVERY DAY NOW WITH NEW INFORMATION AS OZ PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN SLOWLY FOR THE WORLD TO SEE! I JUST HOPE I CAN KEEP UP WITH THESE DAILY REVELATIONS! DOC IMO

Don961: hey huddled .... called the plays .... now it's the 2-minute drill ... into the end game .... er zone

Thunderhawk: AN EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY!

Remember we shared how the internet was being handed to Singapore. Read on Stewards - any thoughts DOC ?

Singapore to cut off public servants from the internet

Government declares its systems will be ‘air-gapped’ to guard against cyber attack but some analysts warn hi-tech nation risks falling behind.

Singapore is planning to cut off web access for public servants as a defence against potential cyber attack – a move closely watched by critics who say it marks a retreat for a technologically advanced city-state that has trademarked the term “smart nation”.

Some security experts say the policy, due to be in place by May, risks damaging productivity among civil servants and those working at more than four dozen statutory boards, and cutting them off from the people they serve. It may only raise slightly the defensive walls against cyber attack, they say.

Ben Desjardins, director of security solutions at network security firm Radware, called it “one of the more extreme measures I can recall by a large public organisation to combat cyber security risks”. Stephen Dane, a Hong Kong-based managing director at networking company Cisco Systems, said it was “a most unusual situation” and Ramki Thurimella, chair of the computer science department at the University of Denver, called it both “unprecedented” and “a little excessive”.

But other cyber security companies said that with the kind of threats governments face today, Singapore had little choice but to restrict internet access.

FireEye, a cyber security company, found that organisations in south-east Asia were 80% more likely than the global average to be hit by an advanced cyber attack, with those close to tensions over the South China Sea – where China and others have overlapping claims – particularly targeted.

Bryce Boland, FireEye’s Asia-Pacific chief technology officer, said Singapore’s approach needed to be seen in this light. “My view is not that they’re blocking internet access for government employees, it’s that they are blocking government computer access from internet-based cyber crime and espionage.”

Singapore officials said no particular attack triggered the decision but noted a breach of one ministry in 2015. David Koh, chief executive of the newly formed Cyber Security Agency, said officials realised there was too much data to secure and the threat “is too real”.

Singapore needed to restrict its perimeter, but, said Koh, “there is no way to secure this because the attack surface is like a building with a zillion windows, doors, fire escapes”.

Koh said he was simply widening a practice of ministries and agencies in sensitive fields, where computers are already disconnected, or air-gapped, from the internet.

Public servants would still be able to surf the web but only on separate personal or agency-issued devices.

Air-gapping is common in security-related fields, both in government and business, but not for normal government functions. Also it doesn’t guarantee success.

Anthony James, chief marketing officer at cyber security company TrapX Security, recalled one case where an attacker was able to steal data from a law enforcement client after an employee connected his laptop to two supposedly separated networks. “Human decisions and related policy gaps are the number one cause of failure for this strategy,” he said.

Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) said it had worked with agencies on managing the changes “to ensure a smooth transition”. and was “exploring innovative work solutions to ensure work processes remain efficient”.

Johnny Wong, group director at the Housing Development Board’s research arm, called the move “inconvenient”, but said “it’s something we just have to adapt to as part of our work”.

At the Land Transport Authority, a group director, Lew Yii Der, said: “Lots of committees are being formed across the public sector and within agencies like mine to look at how we can work around the segregation and ensure front-facing services remain the same.”

One 23-year-old manager, who gave only her family name, Ng, said blocking web access would only harm productivity and may not stop attacks. “Information may leak through other means, so blocking the internet may not stop the inevitable from happening,” she said.

It’s not just the critics who are watching closely.

Local media cited one Singapore minister as saying other governments, which he did not name, had expressed interest in its approach.

William Saito, a special cyber security adviser to the Japanese government, said some Japanese companies had cut internet access in the past year, usually after a breach. “They cut themselves off because they thought it was a good idea,” he said, “but then they realised they were pretty dependent on this internet thing.”

BACKDOC: BY NOW IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THE ANTIQUATED SWIFT SYSTEM THAT IS SLATED TO BE REPLACED IN THE YEARS TO COME BY THE CIPS SYSTEM IS CONCERNED ABOUT SECURITY!

NOW THAT OZ IS CREATING SAFE COMPARTMENTS OR "SANDBOXES" (AS THEY SAY) FOR TRANSACTIONS, THERE IS HEIGHTENED CONCERN FOR SYSTEMS THAT ARE NOT AS WELL PROTECTED. THAT IS WHAT WE ARE NOW BEGINNING TO SEE WITH THE SWIFT SYSTEM HERE! DOC IMO

Thunderhawk: Backdoc Alert

U.S. banking regulators focused on cyber security after SWIFT attacks

U.S. banking regulators said on Wednesday they are focused on cyber security risks and controls for U.S. financial institutions after attacks earlier this year involving the global financial network known as SWIFT.

In a letter responding to questions from Representative Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, the regulators also said the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was drafting guidance on interbank messaging and wholesale payment systems.

"As part of ongoing supervision activities, the OCC's onsite examination teams regularly address emerging issues, such as the recent reports of cyber-attacks involving SWIFT," said the letter from banking regulators including the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

It said updated guidance would soon be provided to U.S. banking officials outlining "key controls and risk management practices that should be assessed as part of supervisory oversight."

Maloney said in a statement she appreciated the response and was encouraged by the steps they took in response to cyber attacks involving the SWIFT international payment system.

"However, as recent hacks demonstrate, our cybersecurity is only as strong as our weakest link," she said. "I remain concerned about the potential for future attacks and will be asking for regular updates from our banking regulators."

BACKDOC: IT'S OBVIOUS NOW TO SEE THAT OUR FINANCIAL FUTURE WILL BE LED BY FINTECH TECHNOLOGIES. WITH SAFER TRANSACTION COMPARTMENTS ON THE INTERNET THE NEED FOR CASH WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST!

WE HAVE SEEN THE CALLING-IN OF THE 500 EURO AND TALK OF REMOVING OTHER LARGE BILLS LIKE THE $100.00 DOLLAR BILL. IN TIME, I'M SURE IT WILL COME TO PASS ONCE EASE, TRUST, AND COMFORT WITH DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS BECOME COMMONPLACE! THIS WILL BE THE FUTURE OF THE ONE WORLD CURRENCY!

WILL THE BANCOR BE THAT CURRENCY EVENTUALLY? MMMM DOC IMO

Thunderhawk: Remember about 5 months back when I posted an article stating that MAS would lend money to the IMF!

Well, pay particularly close attention to the last sentence of this report...

Let your mind wander....

Singapore bets big on electronic payments

SINGAPORE: Singapore will make regulatory changes to facilitate the use of electronic payments , the central bank said on Friday, as the city-state aims to become a major centre for financial technology (fintech).

"Our vision is to make Singapore an electronic payments society, a society that spurs innovation in payments technology, that gives consumers maximum convenience and confidence in making payments," said Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

MAS will streamline existing money changing, remittance and payment systems law into a single piece of legislation to govern both traditional and innovative payment businesses, Menon said.

"We will enhance the provisions for consumer protection and strengthen cyber security requirements," he added.

Under the updated framework, payment service providers will need only one license to conduct multiple payment activities, Menon said.

"Fintech is changing the face of payments...It is not efficient for companies to be regulated under two pieces of legislation which were not written with the fintech solutions of today in mind."

Singapore is rushing to reinvent itself as Asia's financial technology hub to defend off a regulatory threat to its wealth management industry and revive a sluggish economy.

Menon was speaking at a conference on fintech and financial inclusion jointly organised by Singapore Management University and the International Monetary Fund